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NEWSLETTER 17, December 2003 Shree
Jee Fire follow-upSome progress... |
... but more pressure needed. As reported in the Clean Clothes newsletter,
May 2002, Indian shoe factory Shree Jee International was devastated by a fire
which killed 44 workers. At the time of the fire, all seven windows were closed
and heavily secured with wire mesh and both doors were locked. Numerous laws,
as well as health and safety regulations, had been breached. After more than one
year of campaigning for the UK companies sourcing at the factory to take responsibility
for working conditions, some companies have responded to CCC calls for action.
However, more pressure is needed to push these companies to develop and implement
policies and procedures that support compliance with good labor standards where
their goods are produced.  Both
the International Secretariat and the UK CCC (Labour Behind the Label) have been
in correspondence with the UK companies that produced their shoes at Shree Jee
to discuss their role in taking responsibility for the tragic events and how to
ensure that this does not happen again at any workplaces throughout their supply
networks. The following is an update on how key companies sourcing at Shree Jee
have responded; follow up action you are urged to take can be found here
Stylo
plc (which owns Barratts, one of the brands produced at Shree Jee) informed
the UK CCC in June 2003 that it "welcomes
a constructive approach and is in the course of refining its corporate social
responsibility statement and practice,"
and "is aware in general of the Ethical Trading Initiative, and [will] take
particular note of our recommendation [to join ETI]".
While
the CCC welcomes Stylo plc's more constructive approach, it appears that more
pressure is needed to ensure that this translates into concrete action. The
Peacock Group responded in February 2003 that:
because Shree Jee and the Indian government have paid a large amount of compensation
to the survivors and dependents of the victims,
because factory audits and ethical sourcing audits are carried out to ensure that
working conditions meet sourcing policy requirements, and
because where there are problems, "it is made clear they must be corrected
or further business may not be placed with that factory,"
Peacocks
now considers the matter closed. The CCC does not agree and asks Peacocks to meet
with the UK CCC (Labour Behind the Label) to discuss issues generally relating
to implementation and internal monitoring of labor standards. After a year
of unsuccessfully trying to communicate with the International Shoe Agency
(ISA) , the import agency that placed the Peacock and Barratt's orders with
Shree Jee, the UK CCC organized a protest at the ISA's London office. Trade union
experts from India, as well as representatives from the CCC International Secretariat,
South Asia Solidarity, No Sweat, and GMB London participated in the demonstration,
which coincided with the first anniversary of the Shree Jee fire. This action
delivered a strong message to ISA, and as a result they agreed to meet with the
UK CCC in June. In the course of this meeting, ISA expressed a commitment
to upgrading its policies and practices. The UK CCC:
recommended that ISA look immediately into how it can best ensure that national
legislation is upheld by its suppliers, shared
contacts with ISA to facilitate establishing the partnerships needed to improve
the enforcement of labor standards, - suggested that ISA get in
touch with the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) to better understand how ETI members
approach improving labor standards in their supply chains, and
- recommended
the formulation of precise standards, based on ILO conventions and including the
right to a living wage and to freedom of association, to form an integral part
of contracts with suppliers.
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